Michelle Hanlin presents The Necklace Stared Back, an exhibition of paintings depicting spiritual objects in shallow relief. Hanlin plays with the arrangement of statues, rosary beads, chalices, candles and shiny sashes until they inspire a sense of mock reverence and strange symbolism. Abstracted and simplified, the objects become emblematic and resemble brightly coloured designs for flags or badges. The Necklace Stared Back points to the connections between religious imagery and representation in art, and how a process of creative interpretation can condense meaning and power into static forms.
Michelle Hanlin graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) from Sydney College of the Arts in 2003. She has gone on to exhibit in solo and group exhibitions around Australia. Her work is represented in the Artbank and Wollongong City Gallery collections. The Necklace Stared Back will be her seventh exhibition at Gallery 9.
Press release courtesy Gallery 9.
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